In just three years as head coach, Jason Eck has taken Idaho to three-straight Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs appearances, won 26 games -- seven more than in the five years prior to his arrival -- and taken the Vandals to unprecedented heights.
That winning draws attention, and now Eck is the focal point of New Mexico's search.
Numerous sources tell FootballScoop that Eck has emerged as the top target in New Mexico's quest to replace Bronco Mendenhall, who departed after one season to take over the program at Utah State.
Eck's No. 8 Idaho squad faces top-ranked and undefeated Montana State tonight in Bozeman in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
The Vandals are ranked consensus top-10 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.
A former offensive lineman at the University of Wisconsin, Eck has climbed from Minnesota State offensive coordinator to Montana State's offensive line coach and running game coordinator. From there, Eck became offensive line coach and offensive coordinator at South Dakota State.
He took over at Idaho prior to the 2022 season and returned the Vandals to the Playoffs for the first time since 1995.
Additional coaches that have been part of the search to date include Kirby Moore, Matt Wells, Brennan Marion and others.
Saturday update> Sources tell FootballScoop the deal is in place. Jason Eck is the new head coach at New Mexico.